10 Gaming Villains That Secretly SPIED On You
1. The Institute - Fallout 4
Fallout’s fanbase tends to agree that Fallout 4 does not have the best writing in the series. However, where the game truly shines is with the lingering sense of paranoia about the influence of the game’s antagonists, the Institute.
The Institute is the Commonwealth's most mysterious organization that is known for committing all manner of atrocities to the wastelanders, including razing entire settlements and swapping random people with their synth spies.
The latter of the aforementioned crimes is actually tied to a larger theme with the Institute—their never-ending spying on the surface-dwelling population.
The people of the Commonwealth are absolutely paranoid when it comes to what is and what isn’t an Institute spy, and as you play the game, it’s hard not to feel the same way.
Synth spies can be seen all over the wasteland, even playing the part of important NPCs such as the mayor of Diamond City.
In fact, if you give in to the paranoia and start killing the residents of your own settlements, some of them will have synth components on their remains. This even includes the Brahmin that you can buy in a random encounter.
You can never know who's spying for the Institute. Even your closest allies might be one of their synth servants.